Redemption
by UchihaSakura4
Summary: After a dangerous mission ends with the capture of Hinata, Naruto is anxious to get her back quickly and safely. But why would anyone want to kidnap Hinata Hyuuga...or is she a means to an end? T for language. NaruHina, SasuSaku
1. Prologue

5

**A/N: Apparently I've been reading too much Naruto manga, like that could ever happen, because this story has been inspired from the most recent chapters. I hope you've read them! It's not terribly important, but it helps a bit with the setting. Anyway, I hope it's good. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…thank god…I'd ruin it.

* * *

Redemption

Chapter One: Prologue

Frustration.

That was all Sakura felt recently. Her last mission, along with many other ninja, had been a failure. They got information on Sasuke's position and were close to finally catching him, but he slipped away again. Like always.

When Sakura's team arrived at Sasuke's supposed location, the area was practically destroyed. Rubble was everywhere and dried blood stained the ground and still intact walls. It was painfully obvious there had been a fight there; the team assumed Itachi was involved. So, with no information on the unexpected development, they were forced to retreat to Konoha.

So here Sakura was, two weeks later, lying on her bed wishing they had been just a little faster. Naruto had informed her that morning that there were still no leads as to where Sasuke could have disappeared. She sighed.

Her hair was still short and she was wearing a simple black shirt and shorts. She rolled over onto her side and watched the moon, unable to cease thinking long enough to go to sleep. She sighed again and closed her eyes. Someone began banging on her door, forcing her to sit up and grumble. She looked at the clock.

"What the hell…its 12:45am..."

Sakura threw her legs over the side of the bed and walked to the door semi-quickly, considering the time. Naruto stood there, also clad in black. He looked like he had just woken up, but seemed excessively energized.

"Sakura-chan! You won't believe it! Tsunade is calling us to report for an emergency mission. I think it's about Sasuke," Naruto exclaimed in a gasp, breathlessly.

Over the years, Sakura, like Sasuke, learned to avoid showing emotion. However, her emotions betrayed her formerly blank expression, because her heart was racing. News on Sasuke's location? Sakura nodded quickly, completely forgetting about the time.

"Give me five minutes," she said hastily. Naruto nodded. Sakura hurried back inside, grabbed her already packed bag, and changed her shorts to pants. Running back outside, they set off swiftly for the Hokage Tower.

* * *

Hinata and Kakashi were already there when Naruto and Sakura arrived. Naruto gaped and pointed at Kakashi in disbelief.

"You're not LATE?! It's the end of the world!"

Sakura whacked him on the head. "Shut up, Naruto!" she hissed. "This is important."

Naruto continued to stare at Kakashi however, who read his book calmly. His eyes weren't moving.

Tsunade entered the room briskly a moment later and stood behind her desk. "I'm sure you all realize the reason you've been called here at such a time," she began. "We've obtained information on Sasuke's whereabouts and I'm sending you on a mission to establish contact with and recover Uchiha Sasuke." She looked around the room at everyone and continued, "This scroll has more details on his location," she said, handing it to Kakashi. "Of course, it is obvious why I am sending you, the former Team 7. Hinata is coming because Neji is on another mission presently, and you need the Byakugan."

They nodded in understanding.

"Is there no one else coming this time?" Naruto asked, "There were a few more people on the team last time."

"And that was the problem. Fewer people means you can move faster, and speed is of the essence here. The faster you leave, the more likely you will catch Sasuke. Remember, this information, no matter how recently we got it, is still old news, and he could be going anywhere for all we know," Tsunade said seriously.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Let's go then, already! We're already wasting time," he yelled.

"Hold on Naruto," Tsunade snapped. "I wasn't done yet."

Naruto growled and muttered something under his breath. Tsunade was about to call him on it, but Sakura intervened.

"What is it, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade knew Sakura was just as ready to go as Naruto, but also had some inhibitions as well. Tsunade nodded.

"This is critical, and I want you to all listen well." They nodded again before she continued. "Naruto, when and if you find Sasuke, you will most probably find Itachi Uchiha also." She paused to let this sink in. "Itachi will want to capture you for Akatsuki's benefit, obviously, and you need to be extra careful."

Kakashi and Sakura exchanged glances. Hinata eyed Naruto nervously. Naruto lowered his head so that his bangs fell in his face, obscuring his eyes. His face was composed and uncharacteristically mature. "I understand."

Tsunade nodded curtly in approval. "Be careful then."

"Don't worry. We'll all come back, and that includes Sasuke-teme, dattebayo!"

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I know it was the shortest chapter EVER, trust me. I may or may not continue this story, based on your response to the chapter. It's not long, but you get the idea. I have a general plot going, other than the retrieval of Sasuke, so it's not the same as every other 'retrieve Sasuke story'. If you like this intro, then I'll continue, and Tsunade will explain in more detail. The next chapter would be a normal chapter length, which is decently sized for my standards. Anyway, review and let me know.**


	2. Retrieval

11

**A/N: Heya, faithful readers! Glad you decided to continue past the prologue. To understand this chapter, I hope you read the manga. If not, the only thing you really need to know is that at one point Kisame and Suigetsu started battling when Sasuke went off after Itachi. Back to the point, this chapter is much longer, being that it is an actual chapter. I'm happy that I got reviews, but if you're bothering to read the story, please review! I've seen the hits. –grins- Anyway, with no further delay, onto the chapter!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but if I did, Sakura would have matured much faster

Redemption

Chapter Two: Retrieval

* * *

Leaves rustled as the team moved swiftly through the trees. The sky was still dark and the air hung heavy over the forest. Kakashi slowed and the others followed his lead. 

"Let's break here for a few hours," he said softly.

"But Kakashi-sensei," Naruto began. "No Naruto," Sakura interrupted, "we should stop for now. None of us who were actually sleeping when Tsunade summoned us had been asleep long. Besides, we've been moving for a few hours. The sun should rise in a couple hours. We can continue then."

"They're right, Naruto-kun. Just for a little while, okay?" Hinata pleaded.

Naruto sighed. "Fine, but not for long. We need to find the teme!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

* * *

**Elsewhere around the same time**

Pain. It was everywhere, burning through his body like fire. He wasn't complaining though; his goal was complete at long last. He smiled. Revenge is sweet. His new goal was now to find his stupid team and tend to his injuries. He would decide what to do after that. He grasped his left arm, which was in exceptional pain. Looking down, he saw the blood seep through his fingers and trail down his hand. He glanced down farther towards his dragging feet. He was leaving a trail of blood in the leaves and grass. He sighed in pained frustration.

"Shit."

They were close, his team. If he could only reach them, even if someone stumbled upon the trail, it wouldn't matter. He hurried as fast as he could through the dank forest towards their location. Minutes later, yelling could be heard. He sped up in apprehension.

"Come on, come on," he muttered under his breath. Suddenly he broke out from the forest and stood near the walls of a town, surveying two men fighting. A woman and another man stood by, watching the fight.

"Suigetsu!" he yelled in annoyance. Suigetsu dodged a blow from Kisame and looked back. Sasuke grimaced when Karin turned and squealed his name. She came running to him and Juugo just stood there. The surprise was evident on Suigetsu and Kisame's faces.

"You did it then, Sasuke?" Karin gasped impatiently. Sasuke nodded.

"And you won?" Suigetsu asked. Sasuke smirked, and nodded again.

"Against whom?" Kisame questioned with growing suspicion. Sasuke's smirk widened.

"Itachi. He's dead."

Kisame seemed to freeze in place. "You're lying."

"Go see for yourself," Sasuke replied coolly. "Itachi Uchiha is dead."

Kisame growled in annoyance, and in a flash, he was gone to check on Itachi. 'I need a medic' Sasuke thought, ignoring Karin. Juugo approached Sasuke and stopped a few feet short of him.

"I guess you don't need us anymore do you then, since the purpose of Hebi is completed?" he asked stoically. Sasuke nodded.

"That's right."

Suigetsu didn't seem to care much, but Karin was obviously distraught.

"But Sasuke," she started. Sasuke glared at her in annoyance, silently warning her to stay quiet. She heeded him, for once. She was none too happy about it though. Sasuke's gaze shifted towards the town.

"I don't need you guys anymore, so you can go. My first goal is complete. Hebi is disbanded." He turned and started for the town. Yet one last minute plead.

"Sasuke, let me at least get you to the hospital then," Karin said. "It's the least I can do."

Sasuke looked back at her suspiciously, and then nodded. "Fine. But that's it," he said. "Then you leave."

She smiled. "Of course!"

* * *

After a few hours for a break, they had headed off again the next day and traveled for several more hours. None of them had eaten since the night before and Naruto was getting impatient. 

"Okay," Sakura said, stopping and pointing at a town in the distance. "Naruto, we can break there for a bit to get food. Kakashi and I will see if we can get any information about Sasuke." She looked around for approval. Everyone agreed, and they set off for the town.

Sakura sighed in frustration. Of course, no one knew anything about Sasuke or his team. Naruto and Hinata were getting food, and Kakashi was looking for Sasuke elsewhere. She kicked a trash can to release anger and watched it tip and roll towards a building up ahead. Sakura read the inscription near the building doors. It was a hospital. She glanced around and then shrugged. "What the hell. Why not?"

Not too far away, Sasuke grimaced angrily. The doctors kept berating him for an explanation for his numerous wounds. He figured that he would have to sneak out as soon as he could. The doctors were only one of two reasons for this decision, however. Karin stood by his hospital bed, jabbering about god knows what. He was ignoring her, as usual. He looked around. The door and Karin were on the left, and the window and freedom on the right. His eyes fixed on the window.

Downstairs, Sakura surveyed the lobby. It was somewhat busy, but there was one clerk who seemed calm. Sakura headed there, suspicion rising in her throat.

"Excuse me, miss?" she said.

The woman looked up and gave a weary smile. "Yes? How may I help you?"

Sakura smiled sweetly, hiding her anxiousness. "Is there a Sasuke Uchiha in this hospital?"

"Are you family? I'm sorry, but I can't disclose information unless you are."

Sakura hesitated for just a moment, but the tired woman didn't notice.

"He's my…fiance," Sakura lied.

"Oh! Of course. Let me check for you," the woman replied.

'She didn't even want proof?' Sakura thought.

"He_ is_ here," the woman said, "in room 204." She paused. "Oh, that's on the second floor," she added.

"Thank you," Sakura said, and hurried off. She decided not to get the remaining team members first because she didn't know how long Sasuke would stay here.

"Karin," Sasuke said, interrupting her never-ending speech, "will you go and get me a cup of water?" he asked.

Karin beamed. "Of course, Sasuke!"

And just like that, she was gone. Sasuke sighed in relief. He had hoped that would work. He figured these bandages would do for now, and decided to make a break for the window now, while he had the chance. He began to sit up when the door opened. He slumped slightly.

'That was way too fast,' he thought.

However, it wasn't Karin who walked into the room. It was a doctor. Sasuke's lips formed a thin line. 'C'mon, get it over with,' he thought.

"Sorry Sasuke-san. I just needed to check your charts." She picked them up as she said this, and then left. Sasuke began to sit up again, when the door opened yet again.

'Now it's Karin,' Sasuke thought. Instead, his eyes were greeted with the sight of pink hair.

"…Sakura…?"

Her eyes, which had widened at the sight of him, widened more at the sound of his voice.

"…Sasuke."

He was confused. "How did you find me?" he asked. She smiled.

"Why are you so shocked? We said we'd find you, after all." She paused. "Where's your team?"

"Long story."

"And we all know how much you like talking."

"Hn. Karin's here."

"In the hospital?"

He nodded.

"Then we should get going," she prompted.

He eyed her with a questioning look on his face.

"Well, what did you expect? You're coming with us."

Suddenly he smirked. "Fine. Let's go."

She was a bit surprised, but quickly walked to the bed and helped him off it. He put his left arm around her shoulder to stay steady. (deja-vu?)

"The window," he said. She looked at him blankly. "Karin," he clarified. Sakura nodded.

She landed smoothly and headed towards the ramen shop that Naruto stopped at, which was the meeting place for her and Kakashi. Sakura stopped near the shop and spotted Naruto at the counter sitting by Hinata. Kakashi was late, as always. She looked at Sasuke.

"Let's be careful about this, okay? Naruto will be…excited."

Sasuke looked blankly at Naruto's back. "Whatever."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Why are you being so compliant?" she probed.

He turned his gaze to her now. "Save that for when everyone is listening. I don't like repeating myself," he responded.

Sakura started for a moment longer, and then gave up. "Fine. Let's go."  
They made their way through the small crowd to the shop and stopped behind Naruto. As if he had sensed them standing there, Naruto slowly turned around. His eyes widened in shock, and he stood up immediately.

"Sa-sa-sasuke teme!"

"SHHH Naruto! Shut up! Do you want to attract everyone's attention?" Sakura hissed.

Naruto paid no heed to Sakura's warning. Hinata stood up anxiously and laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto-kun, calm down." Then to Sakura, "We should go now. This could get loud."

Sakura nodded in agreement and helped the still limping Sasuke away. Kakashi had appeared at that moment, and gestured towards the gates to the city. Naruto and Hinata followed. Once outside the gates and a little ways into the forest, Hinata let go of Naruto.

"Teme…if you weren't supporting yourself on Sakura-chan, I would punch you right now. I hope you know that."

Sasuke smirked. "Like you could hit me," he responded arrogantly.

"Not this again," Naruto muttered under his breath.

"OKAY," Kakashi said loudly to gather everyone's attention. "Sasuke. I think you know we have many questions for you and there's no time like the present. So firstly, why are you injured?"

Sasuke smirked. "Itachi." Blank silence greeted this. Sasuke frowned in annoyance. They didn't understand. "He's dead. I killed him."

Sakura and Kakashi exchanged glances, and Hinata gasped. Naruto's jaw dropped open.

"You did WHAT?" he exclaimed. Sasuke let out a short laugh, making everyone nervous.

"I_ killed _him. My revenge is complete. As for my team, because I know that is your next question, they are disbanded. The purpose of Hebi has been fulfilled."

"Then…why was Karin at the hospital with you?" Sakura asked.

Naruto, Hinata, and Kakashi looked at her for an explanation. "I found Sasuke at a hospital getting treatment for his wounds and he said Karin was there. A member of his team."

Everyone's attention swung back to Sasuke.

"Hn. She wouldn't leave me alone. I was planning on ditching her soon anyway."

Naruto scowled, remembering Sakura lying on a cold bench the morning Sasuke left.

"Okay. But, I've been wondering this the whole time," Sakura said. "Why didn't you resist when I came to get you?"

Sasuke sighed. "I thought that would be clear with my earlier statements. I've finished my primary goal. Itachi is dead. There is no point in resisting your "rescue" attempt anymore."

'If this was his primary goal,' Sakura thought, 'then what is the secondary goal?'

"Anyway, if you don't want to encounter Karin, then we'd better go now. She'll be looking for me soon if she isn't already," Sasuke mentioned.

Kakashi sighed. "Alright. Naruto, Hinata, I hope you got extra food. But for now, let's go. Sakura, can you hold up Sasuke like that on the way back?"

She nodded. "Okay," he said. An instant later, they were gone.

* * *

**Somewhere dark and mysterious **

"Uchiha Itachi is dead? Who killed him?" asked a somewhat amazed voice.

"The younger Uchiha. Sasuke," replied Kisame.

"And you've confirmed this?"

"Yes, I have. But Pain-sama, I have _some_ good news."  
"What is it?"

"I also discovered that Uchiha Sasuke is now in company with a Konoha team. The kyuubi jinchuuriki is on the team."

"Hm. Interesting. Do you have a plan?"

"Yes, Pain-sama. The jinchuuriki is emotionally attached to a girl on this team. I can kidnap her, and lead him straight to me."

"And you will not fail?"

"I will succeed."

"…Fine. Go ahead with the plan then. I want constant updates."  
" Yes, of course."

* * *

**A/N: All right! Nine pages. I've had longer before, but this is decent length. Anyway, what do you think? Reviews are nice and shiny. Also, sorry this chapter took so long to come out. Surprisingly, I've been getting a lot of homework (considering I'm a senior in high school). The only times I get homework, I get it in bulk. Either I don't get any, or I get a ton. Heh. I have a break next week, so maybe I'll get another chapter out by the 23****rd**** or so? And finally, so you can get on with your life instead of sitting here reading fanfiction, REVIEW!! **

**Jinchuuriki- The human host body for the Biju.**

**Biju- The name for tailed beasts. (Aka kyuubi, shukaku, ect…)**


	3. Capture

**A/N: SORRYYYYY!! I've been busy with school lately because the faculty has been trying to steal my soul. I also got a job recently which I work all weekend. So thus, I haven't had much time to write this. Anyway, I hope it was worth the three month wait! I did spend most of a day typing almost ten pages of this, after all. **

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO!!

* * *

Redemption

Chapter Three: Capture

* * *

It was cold. In the thirties, Sakura estimated. It was also very late and the team was breaking for some well deserved sleep. It's pretty much impossible to sleep in freezing weather though, or at least, Sakura thought so. She grimaced and pulled the blanket closer around her shivering body. After lying like that for a few seconds, she rolled over and closed her eyes again, trying desperately to sleep. A minute later she opened her eyes and sat up, facing the nearest, largest tree. Naruto was supposed to be on watch for enemies, but mainly to watch Sasuke.

Sakura squinted at the slumped figure leaning against the tree. Yes, he was definitely asleep. Angrily, she closed her eyes, counted to ten, and opened them again. Standing up, she walked over to him and nudged him awake softly.

"Naruto," she whispered, as to not awaken the rest of the team.

Naruto grunted and blinked his eyes a few times, before focusing on her own.

"Sakura-chan… what is it?"

Sakura pointed to where the team was sleeping. "Go to sleep; I can't seem to, so I'll take watch early."

Naruto stared at her for a few seconds and sighed. "You sure?" he asked sleepily.

"Well, you obviously aren't up for the job," she responded.

He blinked, unperturbed by her comment, and sighed again. "Okay. G'night."

Sakura took his place and wrapped a blanket around herself again. Sasuke was sleeping against this tree also, practically right next to her. She glanced at his sleeping form and watched his chest rise and fall. He had a deep blue blanket thrown over himself carelessly. She wondered how he could sleep like that in such weather.

"Stop staring," he muttered under his breath.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat. 'He was awake?'

She quickly regained her composure and responded indignantly. "Well, I have to watch you. What do you want?"

"Yes, you have to watch me, but you don't have to stare at me all night," he responded immediately. She laughed softly, looking away.

Sasuke opened his eyes and watched her. "What's so funny?"

"Haha…it's just funny that…heheh…Karin must have been worse than I was and…haha…you must be so sick of it…" At this point, she managed to stifle her laughter.

Sasuke frowned. "Yes, Karin was a pain and she wasn't even all that helpful."

He paused and eyed Sakura somewhat angrily. "And yes, I am sick of it, so cut it out."

Sakura smirked. "Oh Sasuke, I thought that these experiences would have helped you build some patience," she said sarcastically.

"Hn."

Sakura rolled her eyes and glanced back at the sleeping team members. Sasuke leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes.

"By the way, Sasuke, how did you know I was looking at you? Weren't you asleep?"

Sasuke opened his eyes again and sighed.

"Sakura, what did you do before taking watch?"

Sakura blinked. "Tried to sleep…"

Sasuke scowled. "Later than that."

"I told Naruto to go to bed," she added. A few moments of dead silence passed where they stared at each other blankly.

"Oh!" Comprehension dawning.

"Oh." Bland sarcasm.

"Me talking to Naruto woke you up?"

"Yes. Now can I go back to sleep?"

Sakura sighed. "Yes. But I don't know how anyone can sleep in this weather," she muttered.

"Hn."

Several hours later, the team prepared to leave. Sakura packed her things into her bag as Naruto and Hinata cleaned up the remnants of the team's meal. Kakashi and Sasuke stood ready by a tree.

When everyone was ready to go, they started the final leg of the journey back home.

* * *

Tsunade sighed.

"I've got a lot going on right now guys. I'm glad you've brought Sasuke back, but you're not done yet. At least, one of you isn't…"

They looked at her questioningly.

"Well, Sasuke needs to be supervised until his trial…and what with Akatsuki troubles and such; I can't spare any shinobi for Sasuke. Hinata, you are going on another mission soon, so you can't watch him…so, who will it be?"

Hinata excused herself and Team Seven glanced among themselves. Finally Naruto grinned.

"Sasuke-teme can stay with me!"

Sasuke grimaced. "Hell no am I staying with the dobe."

Naruto growled in anger, while Sakura moved between the two of them to prevent a fight. Kakashi smiled.

"I don't advise that he stay with me," he said.

Sakura stopped what she was doing and her jaw dropped. She looked between Kakashi and Naruto.

"….No way, you're seriously going to stick him with me?"

Tsunade laughed and Sasuke frowned.

"He can stay with me," said a voice from the corner.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all jumped in response to the unnoticed intruder while Tsunade smiled and Kakashi chuckled.

"I wondered when you were going to show yourself…Sai," Tsunade said.

"Whaa! Sai, you teme! When did you come back? And what do you think you're doing, sneaking up on us like that?" Naruto yelped furiously.

"Naruto!" Tsunade warned.

Sai laughed softly and moved out of the shadows.

"I came back today and it wasn't sneaking. You see, dickless, if you were a good shinobi like Tsunade-sama or Kakashi-sensei, then you would have noticed me. I wasn't trying to _hide_," Sai retorted calmly.

Naruto's face turned red in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "Why you…" he seethed.

Sasuke almost laughed. "What did he call you Naruto? That sounded appropriate." Sakura held Naruto back and Sasuke continued speaking, but now to Sai.

His face quickly changed into a peculiar expression. "However, your comments suggest you believe that ALL of us are inept. Am I correct?"

Sai smirked. "You would be correct."

Sasuke glared at Sai. "I will not stay with him," Sasuke said without turning away from Sai.

Kakashi and Tsunade exchanged looks.

"Actually, Sasuke, I think this is a good idea," Tsunade said.

Sasuke looked at her as stoically as he could. "I will not stay with him," he repeated.

"Well you can't stay with Naruto first because you would kill each other and second because I don't think Naruto would do a good job of keeping you in check. You can't stay with Kakashi for the same reason minus the killing part. You can't stay with Sakura because she has a very serious job which requires her constant attention, meaning she can't keep track of you. Therefore, Sai is a good option because you to are both quiet and if you have such a big problem with it then you'll have to grow up because I don't have anyone else to spare for you. Hate him silently in a corner if you must."

Tsunade paused and looked at the Uchiha. He was utterly speechless.

"Now, Sai," she continued without a second thought, "this will only be for a week or two. It depends on how busy the council is. I will not give you any mission for this time period, and you must accompany the Uchiha anywhere you or he goes. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," he responded.

She looked at Sasuke for his response. He opened his mouth to talk, and then changed his mind and closed it, looking away angrily.

Sakura smiled and stepped forward. "He agrees, Tsunade-sama." She laid her hand on his shoulder. "Right Sasuke? It's only for a week or so after all. How bad can it be?"

* * *

Approximately an hour after Team Seven left Tsunade's office, Hinata was back awaiting her next mission assignment. Hinata assumed that it was urgent, considering that she had just come back from a different mission. Tsunade wasn't in her office, and Hinata sighed and looked out the large window behind the desk, waiting. Shino was leaning against a wall, ever the early one. The door opened and Hinata turned to see who it was.

Kiba and Akamaru hurried in.

"You're late," Shino said.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It's chaotic out there," Kiba panted as if he had run there, which he probably had. Shino nodded in understanding.

"So, where's Tsunade?"

The door opened again, and this time Tsunade rushed in.

"Sorry I'm late. I'm busy right now, so I'll make this quick."

They nodded.

"This mission is simple, yet urgent. I need you to go to the Cloud Village and give them this."

Tsunade procured a scroll from the folds of her clothing.

"It's a letter of the utmost importance," she explained. Her face was completely serious.

"I expect you to protect it with all of your strength. The magnitude of damage that this could inflict if given to the wrong hands would be disastrous."

"No pressure," Kiba muttered.

Tsunade smiled sardonically. "Indeed. I expect you to be able to leave by sunset. Traveling at night is safer, for there are far less people to encounter. You should be able to make it in about two days."

She glanced at the three shinobi for any questions or objections.

"We understand, Tsunade-sama," Hinata said.

Tsunade nodded in her approval. "In that case, you are dismissed. May Kami be with you."

* * *

It was just past sunset and Hinata and Shino were waiting tensely at Konoha's gates. After a few minutes of utter silence, Hinata heard the sound of someone running towards them and turned around to yell at Kiba for being late. She was already angry because she hardly got any sleep and already had to go on anther high profile mission. The last thing she needed was her team members being late and unreliable.

However it wasn't Kiba and Akamaru coming, but Naruto and Sakura.

"Hinata-chan!!" Naruto yelled, waving his arm as he approached.

As they came within talking distance, Sakura slowed and stopped, but Naruto kept going and tackled Hinata in a giant bear hug.

"Eeep! Naruto-kun! What are you doing here?"

Naruto released her and grinned. "We came to see you off Hina-chan!"

Hinata blushed at the nickname and smiled. "Thank you. That's very considerate."

Sakura smiled. "That's what friends are for. But you must be exhausted!"

Hinata laughed. "I did get a few hours of sleep, so I'll be fine. Kiba's late again though."

Sakura nodded. "I know how you feel, working with Kakashi." She paused and glanced at Naruto and winked.

"Anyway, I have to get back to the hospital. I'll see you guys later! Good luck, Hinata, Shino."

She waved and ran off. Hinata was confused because of the wink and turned back to Naruto, who was blushing.

"What was that about, Naruto-kun?"

"Wha? Nothing…nothing at all. Um, well, I just wanted to say….good luck Hinata-chan!"

He moved forward a few steps and kissed her lightly on the check and then backed up, blushing even more.

"Gotta go, bye!!"

He turned and ran away as fast as he could. Hinata was stunned and blushing heavily. She felt like she was about to faint. Just then Kiba ran up with Akamaru, breathing heavily.

'Hey guys! Sorry I'm late. You ready to go?"

Hinata blinked and looked at Kiba blankly. Shino sighed. "Alright, let's get moving," he said.

**--**

**4 days later**

**--**

Sakura knocked on the door and stood there for several seconds until it opened. Sai stood there, wearing a grey shirt and black pants, smiling as always.

"Hello, hag. What can I do for you?"

Sakura's eye twitched. "You can watch what you say before I personally disable you for starters," she growled.

He raised an eyebrow. "…and?"

She smiled sweetly. "I'd like to see Sasuke," she added.

"Right. Hold on, I'll need to go find his hiding spot," he said sarcastically.

Sakura blinked. "Aren't you supposed to be watching him at all times?"

"It was a joke, ha—Sakura-chan."

She smirked. "Of course."

Sai turned and walked away, returning a minute later with Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at her blankly. "Yes?"

She smiled. "Hi Sasuke! Long time no see."

"It's only been four days."

"Haha, right. Well, I wanted to talk to you." She turned to Sai. "Mind if I borrow him?"

Sai grinned uncharacteristically. "Please do!"

"Humph. Come on Sasuke; let's walk."

Sai closed the door, and they began to walk away in no particular direction. It was late, and it was a full moon. The temperature was starting to drop and Sakura clutched her sweatshirt closer around her body.

"If you wanted to talk, then why didn't you come earlier than now?" Sasuke asked without really caring.

Sakura smiled. "I've got a very demanding job. I couldn't find the time."

"So what is it?" He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Mainly, I just wanted to know how you are doing with Sai."

Sasuke frowned and clinched his fists inside his pockets. "Hn. I hate him."

Sakura laughed. "I'm aware. So. Not so well then…"

Sasuke glared.

"Right. Well, I'm sure you'll only have to put up with him for another few days and that's it. I don't think it will take more than a week total."

"We'll see soon enough," Sasuke replied blankly.

"And there's one more thing…" She trailed off, looking at the moon.

"What is it?"

It took Sasuke a few moments to realize that Sakura had stopped walking. He paused and turned around to face her. She was looking at the ground, her hair covering her face which was scrunched up in worry.

"Do you know anything about….the other Akatsuki members? Hinata should be coming back from a mission soon and I've been kind of worried about her safety."

Sasuke paused, realizing that he didn't know all that much. He had spent too much time learning only about Itachi and _his_ whereabouts.

"Not much. There aren't very many of them left, as far as I know. There is the one Itachi always traveled with…Kisame. Then there is Pein, Konan, and Zetsu. Pein doesn't seem to do much of the dirty work, so I'd say that if she were in danger, it would be from one of the other three."

Sakura nodded.

"I'm sure she's fine," Sasuke added reassuringly, not knowing why he even bothered.

Sakura nodded again. "I know…I just…have a bad feeling about it. I'm sure it's nothing."

They stared at each other, not knowing what to do next.

"Well," Sakura said finally, "I guess I should take you back now…"

"Yeah," Sasuke said quickly.

The walk back to Sai's house was silent. When they got there, Sasuke noticed Sai talking to an ANBU. The man looked over and saw them. He hurried to them and spoke quickly.

"Urgent request from the Hokage for Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Sai to report to Hokage Tower."

"Thank you," they said in unison, and stared at each other. Sai smirked.

* * *

Sakura slammed the door open and rushed into the office. "What's the problem, Tsunade-sama?"

Sasuke trailed closely behind her. Naruto was already there, looking frantic, standing next to Neji. Tsunade sat patiently at her desk with her eyes closed in mild frustration. That was when Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai noticed Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino kneeling on the floor, all injured.

"What happened?" Sasuke questioned.

"Hinata Hyuuga has been captured. I can't send Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino. They are all too hurt. So I've chosen you, Team Seven, Neji, and Sai to go on a rescue mission. Luckily, the message I sent with the team made it to the correct hands, so all you have to worry about is collecting Hyuuga. According to Kiba and Shino, Hyuuga was targeted specifically, so I'm certain she is alive and well. However, this is a dangerous mission. Can I count on you?"

"YES!" Naruto exclaimed passionately. Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other, before nodding gravely at Tsunade.

"Okay, then that's settled. Sasuke, your trial will have to be postponed."

"Whatever," he muttered.

"In that case, leave as soon as you are ready. You're dismissed."

* * *

**A/N: Woot!! I'm done! It is currently 11:21pm and I've been typing for hours. I hope it paid off. I know that the majority of this chapter was kinda boring, and I'm sorry about that, but I think the next chapter may be better. Anyway, please review!**

**Oh, and by the way…suggestions anyone? Any and all suggestions concerning the plot of this story are welcome. –hands out plushies- **


	4. Trust

13

**A/N: …I'm sorry this chapter took so long! Writers block. Hopefully the story is worth the wait…? –Grins nervously-**

**Also, I dedicate this chapter to **_**Romance is Me**_** for giving me a vague idea of where to go with the story. I didn't use the whole idea, but parts of it inspired me.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; however, Sasuke wouldn't be so bad. Ha-ha, JUST KIDDING! -hides from rabid fangirls-

Redemption

Chapter Four- Trust

* * *

Sakura didn't think she'd ever seen Naruto so….well…determined. Everyone knew that he was the number one hyperactive ninja in Konoha and was undeniably reckless when his friends' lives were at stake, but he was never really known for being a deep thinker. Not to say that he was stupid, rather that he rushed into things without heed to his health or actions. Of course, his close friends knew that he did so not out of any masochistic nature, but because he valued the lives of others above his own.

The somewhat awkward team sat around a camp fire a few hours past dusk. Neji was sharpening and cleaning his weapons, which Sakura deemed perfectly deadly and pristine already. A slight breeze swept his hair out of his face briefly, and Sakura noted his calm yet concerned expression.

She looked back at Naruto, who was unnaturally quiet. His eyes were closed tightly as if he were having a waking nightmare. He clutched his weapons pouch tightly in his hands, which were twitching in anticipation. She knew this was going to be a tense mission, what with two of the members fighting over who would rescue Hinata. Neji was simply too overprotective. Naruto it seems had just realized that he had deep feelings for Hinata, meaning he would do anything and everything he could to save her.

Sasuke and Sai seemed to be the only ones who weren't, per se, suffering or antsy. Sasuke was sitting calmly, eyes closed; Sakura figured he was meditating. His bag lay casually at his side. Sai was drawing, as usual. Sakura looked at the ever-present book in his lap with Sai's brother on the cover, and wondered if he had any other hobbies.

Sakura sighed and stood up. "I'm going to sleep. We need all the strength we can get, so I suggest that you all do the same."

Sai ignored her and Sasuke opened an eye briefly. Neji nodded slowly and stood up as well, moving away from the fire and laying down. Naruto's only acknowledgement was to lie down on the ground where he sat. Sakura found a comfortable patch of leaves and lied down. Sasuke opened his eyes and put out the fire. He carefully moved away from Sai before lying down. Tomorrow would be a trying day for all of them.

* * *

For the hundredth time that day, Sakura wanted nothing better than to beat up Naruto and Neji. They just wouldn't stop arguing. Not to mention that Neji's suspicions about Naruto's feelings for Hinata were developing at an alarming rate, making him all the angrier.

"We've got to hurry, dattebayo! I'm worried about Hinata-chan!!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You're not the only one Uzumaki, so be quiet," Neji replied.

Sasuke's eye twitched. "Dobe. Hyuuga. If you don't shut up…"

"Then you'll do what, Uchiha?" Neji questioned with disturbing calmness.

Sasuke and Neji glared at each other. Sakura glanced at Sai and decided that he wasn't going to do anything. She turned back to the glaring contest.

"If the three of you don't stop arguing, then you'll have to face me. So shut up and calm down."

The group had slowed considerably by this point, and stopped all together with Sakura's sentence. Sai smirked. Sasuke looked at Sakura, seemingly nonplussed. Naruto was nervous, knowing firsthand what Sakura's newfound strength could do. He looked at his feet guiltily. Neji sighed and looked away.

"She's right; we need to calm down. Fighting amongst each other is not going to help Hinata. We need to focus."

Sakura smiled. "Exactly. Let's stop at the next town to clear our heads. We can get lunch and then head out again." She shrugged. "Maybe we'll even learn something about where Hinata is. Agreed?"

Sakura was surprised when Naruto nodded along with everyone else. She smiled softly. He'd grown so much since they first met. "Okay, let's go."

They set off again, this time no one speaking. When they arrived at the nearest town, Neji took control.

"Right, so here's the plan." He paused and glanced at Sakura for approval. She nodded and he continued. "We are going to split up into groups and _discretely _ask around, and then meet back here in two hours. Also, if you're going to eat then you might as well do that now too. Understood?"

"Yeah that's fine," Naruto said, "but if you don't mind, I'll go by myself. I'm gonna get some ramen first!"

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sure that's a good---"

Naruto waved her off dismissively with a grin on his face. "Don't worry Sakura-chan! I'll be fine, dattebayo." Before she could respond, he was gone.

"I'll go with Sakura," Sasuke said, breaking the silence.

"What traitor? You don't like hanging out with me anymore?" Sai asked sarcastically with his ever-present smile.

Sasuke ignored him but Sakura bristled. "Sai…what did I tell you about calling Sasuke that?" she asked dangerously.

"Let's not forget we're a team here," Neji said warningly, glancing from Sakura to Sai and back.

Sai looked at Neji and seemed to change his mind. "Yes, of course, and I think it's time to go. Bye hag, traitor!"

And before Sakura could pummel him to an early death, Sai was gone with Neji following in his wake. She rolled her eyes and turned to Sasuke.

"Alright then. I guess we should start looking around," she muttered.

"Aa."

* * *

Three ninja hidden in the trees watched them enter the town. They glanced among each other, silently deciding to wait for them to split up into groups, which they most certainly would. The blonde was first to leave, not surprisingly. The ninja knew of his food habits after all; however, the leader was surprised to see the Jinchuuriki leave alone. This would make things simple. He waved in that direction and one of the three ninja followed the blonde swiftly from a distance. Next, the remaining team members seemed to bicker for a minute before two of them departed in yet another direction. The leader smiled. The ninja beside him followed them as well. The pink haired one that the leader knew to be the medic and the Uchiha stood alone talking. Now was the time to make his appearance. He pulled his cloak around his head tighter and descended from the trees to where the two ninja stood.

Sakura sighed. "Where should we start? Bars are usually good for information gathering."

Sasuke shifted slightly and glanced around the street. "That's as good of a place as any."

Sakura stared at him, marveling at how much his personality had changed since his return. "Ne…Sasuke?"

He stopped scanning the streets and looked back at her, waiting. Several seconds of silence ensued.

"What is it, Sakura?" he asked impatiently.

She opened her mouth, thought better of it, closed her mouth, and looked away. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"Sakura?"

"…well, it's just…well I was wondering if maybe after this mission…" She trailed off, losing her nerve. A few more seconds passed and she looked up into his eyes. He was focused on her with such intensity that she wondered if maybe something else was occupying his mind and he was just looking in her direction.

"Sasuke? Is there something wrong?"

He held up a hand to silence her and it was then that she realized he wasn't looking at her, but over her shoulder at the trees. "Someone's here."

Sakura stared at him and considered informing him that people did indeed live in towns, but decided to hold the sarcasm. She slowly turned around, completely forgetting her question, and looked into the woods. There was a slight movement from the trees and in the next instant, Sakura felt something only centimeters away fly past her cheek. The ninja who appeared in front of them in the next instant dodged the kunai with relative ease. Sakura gaped at him and mentally slapped herself. She should be paying more attention to her surroundings.

The next thing she noticed was the utter lack of people on the street. Sakura glanced around uneasily, wondering when that happened. Deciding to figure out the details later, her attention returned to the mysterious ninja whom Sasuke had kept a well trained eye on since he appeared.

The ninja wore a plain black cloak which obscured most of his face, leaving only his mouth visible. His garments were dirty and mud clung to his ninja shoes. The ninja chuckled and Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, I presume?" he asked in mock politeness.

Judging from his voice and height, Sasuke assumed the boy was in his early to mid twenties.

"Who the fuck are you?" Sasuke asked harshly, ignoring the question. The ninja grinned and folded his arms.

"Well that's not so important, especially compared to what I'm about to tell you. I'm sure you'll have better things to worry about," he responded.

Sakura was put off by his behavior. What kind of ninja talked to his enemy like this? Then again, she didn't yet know if they were enemies, although she didn't trust the boy. Sasuke was unshaken. He smiled sardonically.

"And _what_ exactly do you need to tell us? We don't even know you."

"Oh Sasuke…" the ninja sighed with mock disappointment; he paused and smiled. "Can I call you that?"

Sasuke blinked in surprise. This person was almost as weird as Sai.

"You see, Sasuke-kun, just because you don't know me doesn't mean I don't know you. How naive."

Sasuke scowled. "What the hell do you _want_? Or better yet, you can start with who you work for."

The ninja became unsettlingly quiet all the sudden. After a few moments he smiled again, but this time the smile was obviously fake. "Who I work for is irrelevant. I think you should be worrying more about Hyūga Hinata."

Sakura bristled and Sasuke flinched slightly.

"What do you know about Hinata-chan?" Sakura hissed at the once again smiling ninja.

"Well, I know that if you don't hurry, you'll be asking what _did _I know about Hinata," the ninja replied.

Sakura glared at him and took a step closer. "Is that a threat on her life?" she asked dangerously.

The ninja laughed merrily. "Oh, I love you two, you know that? Yes it is a threat, but not from me! I think they say something along the lines of don't kill the messenger?"

Sakura and Sasuke glanced at each other.

"I suppose you're trying to decide between yourselves whether I'm trustworthy or not, so let me just say one thing. Can you afford to take the time to do that? Can you really afford to not trust me? Hinata will die, and it'll be on your conscience for the rest of your short, pathetic lives. So are you going to listen to me or not?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to respond, but Sakura beat him to it. "What do you have to tell us?"

Sasuke looked between her and the ninja. "Wait, are you actually buying this? Sakura…"

"Sasuke!" she said cutting him off, "Let's just hear him out…okay?"

Sasuke stared at her for a few more seconds and looked away, sighing. "Fine. But that's all. I'm not making any promises."

Sakura nodded and looked back at the ninja. "Right," she said. "We're ready now."

The ninja was grinning widely, obviously highly amused by their conversation. He seemed to be pleased at being able to rattle them the way he did. "Sure, okay."

"Hinata is being held in a secure rendezvous point where you need to be in no more than two hours if you ever want to see her breathing again." He paused, measuring their reactions. Seemingly satisfied, he continued. "It's about an hour and fifty minutes away, so you don't have time to do anything else if you want to make it on time."

"What do you want, _sorry_…what does your _**boss**_ want in return for her alive?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"Nothing."

For the next thirty seconds, no one said anything.

"Nothing?" Sakura asked uneasily.

"Nothing." The ninja smiled.

He's toying with us, Sasuke thought. His eyes narrowed. "He has to want something."

The ninja sighed. "No, do you not understand me? He doesn't want anything."

Sakura decided to ask the obvious question at this point. "If he didn't want anything, then why did he kidnap her in the first place?"

"Maybe you should ask him," the ninja said, trying to hold back laughter.

"I don't trust him," Sasuke muttered to Sakura.

"I don't either, but I don't want to take the chance that he's telling the truth. I don't think I could live with myself if we didn't go," she whispered back.

Sasuke sighed. "Where are we even going? You haven't told us…"

The ninja smiled. Now they were talking about going. He was making progress. "Have some patience Sasuke!" he exclaimed brightly.

"Have patience?" Sakura yelled. "Didn't you just say we are on a strict time limit?!"

The ninja sighed. "Right…yeah. Okay, okay, hold on."

He dug into his cloak and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper. "Here's a map," he said, handing it to Sasuke. Sasuke reached forward to take it. As their hands drew close, Sasuke grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, and in the process yanked his hood off of his head. Sakura got the map, shoving it into her pack.

They stared at the boy. He was younger than Sasuke thought, maybe eighteen or nineteen. He had bright blue eyes and disheveled jet black hair, reaching just below his ears. His smile was rather boyish, but his face mature.

"Ah! You got me," he laughed. "And yet somehow, you are still running out of time. How long do you plan on holding my hand Sasuke? I didn't know you went that way."

Sasuke's jaw dropped and he yanked his own hand back in shock. The boy snickered.

"You…you, stupid little fuc—"

"SASUKE!" Sakura yelled, frantically cutting him off.

He whipped around. "**What?!**"

"Sasuke, look at this map," she said softly. "This is really far; we should go. Now."

Sasuke looked at the map and looked back at the boy, who was already pulling his hood back on. "Tell me your name," he demanded.

The boy looked up. "Ayato."

"Sasuke," Sakura said, looking away from the boy. "What about the rest of the team?"

"Don't worry!" Ayato said happily. "I'll tell them where you're going."

"How the hell do you know who are team members are?" Sasuke growled.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, don't your remember how I told you that I knew who you were even though you didn't know me? Same concept."

"Fine, whatever. Let's go, Sakura."

Glancing at Ayato one more time, Sakura sighed and nodded. "Right, time to go."

A moment later, they were gone. Ayato smiled. That went well. He turned and waited for his ninja to return with news. A few moments later, one of them appeared.

"Ayato-san, I have a report."

"Yes?"

"Neji and Sai are completely unaware of the situation. We are keeping them on a wild goose chase. They'll have no idea until Uchiha and Haruno have made the trade."

Ayato smiled. "Excellent work. Keep it up."

The ninja nodded and disappeared. A moment later, the next ninja showed up. He was carrying something in a large black duffel bag.

"Yes?" Ayato asked, not waiting for the introduction.

The ninja smiled. "I've captured the Jinchuuriki. There's no way he'll wake up in time, and even if he does…well, this chakra induced bag will keep him at bay."

Ayato nodded in approval. "Well then, I suppose that's it. Let's go. Time to make my own report."

The ninja nodded and hitched the bag higher on his shoulder.

* * *

**A/N: So here it is! The main plot is finally revealing itself after four chapters. It will become a little more apparent in the next chapter, but I think you get the gist. **

**Anyway, I hope it was worth the outrageous wait. And I'm really sorry about that. I can attribute it partially to writers block. The other thing is, I just moved into collage two days ago! Yay. And guess what? My internet wasn't working! Fantastic. **

**Also, what do you guys think of Ayato? I don't even know where his personality even came from. Haha. I really like him though. Meh.**

**REVIEW OR THE CLOWN FROM ****IT**** WILL COME GET YOU!**


	5. Betrayal

12

**A/N: Hello again readers! It took me a long time to decide how to progress this plot line, and even longer to actually sit down and do it. Haha. I hope the last chapter was a little more interesting than usual, or at least enough to make you want to continue reading. This one was really fun to write. I plan to pick up the pace around now. And also, just as a side note, this isn't going to be on of those twenty plus chapter stories. I'm probably half done. Hope no one is terribly opposed to that.**

_**This chapter is dedicated to all of my reviewers. Thanks for staying caught up. It means a lot to a writer!**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Redemption

Chapter Five- Betrayal

* * *

With every step he took, Sasuke questioned Ayato's words. He hadn't trusted the boy ninja when they were in town of course, but now that everything was silent and he could think properly, he was sure that they had made a mistake. For all they knew, they could be running right into an ambush, not to mention that they didn't even know where most of their team was. And the trade factor for Hinata was really bothering him too; this was the most suspicious part. Sasuke believed in equivalent exchange. There was no way that the kidnapper wanted absolutely nothing for Hinata. There would be no point in kidnapping her, and definitely no point in killing her.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura, but saw only determination on her face. Her hair blew behind her wildly and he realized there was something about her that was different from the Sakura he left on a bench all those years ago. Strength. If he was going to make this argument again, he was going to need to compose his thoughts and speak clearly. Not that he didn't always, he thought smugly. But she wouldn't stop without a fight. This Sakura was dead set on taking this plan seriously.

He looked back ahead and realized that he was about to collide with a tree. His eyes widened in shock and quickly threw himself left to avoid the tree. A split second later it occurred to him that he should have gone right, because he was about to slam into Sakura. Out of pure coincidence, Sakura happened to look in his direction a moment before they collided. In a last ditch effort to avoid Sakura getting hurt because of his stupidity, Sasuke enveloped her in a protective hug and spun upside down so that his back would receive the brunt of the damage. The impact coupled with Sakura on his stomach temporarily knocked the breath out of Sasuke. She quickly scrambled off of Sasuke to let him breathe and helped him sit up.

Sakura's eyes were wide and her cheeks flushed. "Sasuke! Sasuke? Are you okay?"

Cough cough

"Sasuke?!"

Cough cough cough

"Damn it, Sasuke! Answer me," she demanded, and at the same time whacked his back a few times. "Do I need to do CPR or something?!"

His eyes widened slightly. Now it was Sasuke's turn to blush.

Cough cough. "N-no! I'm fine! Just give me a second," he wheezed.

Sakura sighed in relief and slight disappointment. "Good. Well. Now that you can speak…you can start with telling me what the hell just happened." She smiled.

Shouldn't have said anything, he thought vaguely. It's not like he could just tell her that he got distracted by _her_ of all things, and almost hit a tree. That would be like throwing away his pride. Uchihas did not hit trees.

He coughed again and cleared his throat. "I…it was nothing. Don't worry about it. We should finish this _mission_," he said, the last sentence pure sarcasm.

"Look Sasuke, I'll ignore the fact that you almost hit a tree," she started trying not to laugh, and then proceeded to narrow her eyes, "but this is important. You need to take it seriously."

"Sakura, this is a trap! Can't you tell? I'm sure that this _Ayato_ took advantage of our team being separated and sent us straight into an ambush. He's probably delayed them rather than told them what we're doing," Sasuke explained.

Sakura scoffed. "And what about Hinata then? Why would he tell us that?"

"…I can't explain why he would just give us Hinata back, which makes it all the more suspicious. I don't think she's even there. It's a bluff."

They stared at each other for a minute in silence. Finally Sakura looked at her feet. It was starting to rain. Her hair hung in her face and Sasuke thought she might be crying for a moment. Suddenly she looked up, her face full of resolve; there were no tears. He must have imagined it. Sasuke finally realized that the old Sakura was gone and wasn't coming back. She had really changed, and he was oddly proud. It was the weirdest feeling he thought he'd ever experienced.

"Sasuke, it's like he said. Can we really afford to be sure about that? I don't think I'd forgive myself if we didn't go and she died because of it. And just to be clear, I don't trust him either, and I think there is some sort of trap, but we should still go. We can just be more careful….okay?" The last word was almost a plead. She moved a few feet closer to him. "Please?"

He looked away, blushing. "Fine. But we do this my way, alright?"

"Okay. Good. Then we should go; we've wasted enough time here." She turned to start again and paused, looking back at him. "And by the way, Sasuke, thanks for catching me."

He nodded.

The rendezvous point was on a cliff. The woods ended a few meters from the edge. Sasuke had them stop before leaving the trees and scouted the area. The leaves rustled in the wind and rain. They glanced at each other. No one was there.

"Diversion," he whispered. Sakura nodded. He couldn't say he didn't see something like this coming, but at the same time the look on Sakura's face was killing him. She was heartbroken.

"Uchiha! Haruno! Do you think you're clever hiding in the trees? You better come out before this poor girl has to die," called a voice in a singsong voice.

Sasuke's face jerked up. Where had that voice come from? He jumped down from the tree he was in and entered the clearing. Sakura did the same. Ayato was standing there, alone.

Sasuke's face contorted in confusion and rage. "How the fuck did you beat us here?"

Ayato laughed. "Calm down, Sasuke. I don't know, maybe you paused for a break? Or maybe I just took a shortcut…I dunno." He smiled mockingly.

Sasuke was ready to beat the crap out of the boy when he felt Sakura's hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke," she whispered. "Look at his feet."

Sasuke looked down cautiously. There was a large, lumpy duffel bag by the boy's feet. Ayato smiled. "Ah yes. Your friend is probably very cold and wet in there. I don't think my boss particularly cared for her condition. I suppose I should give her back."

Ayato lifted the bag and handed it to Sakura. She dropped down to her knees and undid the bag. Sakura pulled Hinata out of the bag. She was indeed wet and unmoving.

Sasuke glanced down. "Is she alive?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, but they've used an herb mixed with chakra to keep her asleep." She glanced up at Ayato. "It's usually used to insure someone does not fight back."

Ayato smiled.

"Can you fix it?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura looked from Ayato to Sasuke. "Yes. Just give me a moment."

No one said anything, and Sakura made the only noise. Her hands dug through her bag for a few moments before retrieving the medicine she would need.

Sasuke wouldn't take his gaze from Ayato's form. The cloak he wore a couple of hours ago was gone; presumably it would have slowed him down, especially in the rain. He was wearing a black shirt and pants. His ninja sandals were also black. There was no identifying headband in sight.

Sasuke was the first to speak. "So. Who are you?"

Ayato laughed softly. "Didn't I already tell you Sasuke? I'm Ayato."

"Stop calling me that," Sasuke hissed. "And you know that's not what I meant."

Ayato sighed. "Of course. But you are asking the wrong question. You don't want to know who I am; you want to know who my boss is. See, because I am no one. As far as the world is concerned, I don't exist. But I know all about the world, and it's time for everyone to wake up." He grinned at this statement. "And as for my boss…I don't think I have permission to tell you anything about him, or his intentions for that matter."

Sakura glanced up. "That must be lonely."

Ayato frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Nobody knowing who you are? That must be the most lonely existence."

"On the contrary, it is helpful. If no one knows me, then they have no power over me and don't expect me. It makes it easy to do jobs," Ayato responded, but Sakura could see his hesitation.

She smiled. "That doesn't make it any less lonely."  
Ayato opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He had no response. He closed his mouth and looked away. "The end justifies the means."

Sakura sighed and looked down at Hinata, continuing her work. "Do you actually believe that?"

Ayato gave nothing away. She decided to try again.

"Who are you protecting? A friend? A _brother_?"

Ayato stiffened. "I don't know what you're—"

"Oh come on, Ayato. Some men like power, some destruction. You aren't one of them. You are doing this from a completely different reason. Cut the crap and spill."

Ayato looked back at her, shocked. Suddenly Hinata gasped heavily and they all looked down at her.

Sakura helped her sit up and pulled a blanket out of the medic bag, wrapping it around Hinata. "Hinata? It's Sakura. You're safe now. How are you feeling?" she asked worriedly.

Hinata moaned and rubbed her head. "I'm cold, and hungry," she murmured. "Where's Naruto?"

Sakura smiled in spite of the situation. "Let's worry about you right now Hinata. I'm sure Naruto is fine."

Sasuke, however, wasn't so sure. He was watching Ayato, who looked somewhat guilty.

"Actually," Ayato said, "I wouldn't jump to conclusions."

Sakura jerked her head up, suddenly angry. "What the hell have you done with our team?"

Ayato smiled cynically. "I don't think there's really anything you can do about it now."

"TELL ME WHERE THEY ARE!"

Ayato cringed in fear. Her chakra was fearsome, and it reeked of murderous intent.

"If I help you…..will you help me?" It was a timid plea for help.

Sasuke would have been perfectly satisfied with beating the information out of him and then leaving him to die, but Sakura was more rational.

In a much softer voice, she asked, "it's a brother right? Younger probably."

Ayato nodded. "He's sick. My boss said he'd cure him if I helped, and leave him to die if I didn't. You're an amazing medic aren't you? You were trained by the sannin Tsunade herself. Can't you cure him?"

Sakura smiled. "I can try, but I need your help first. Tell me where my team is."

Ayato sighed heavily and looked at Sasuke. "The annoying one, Sai, and the cousin, Neji, are still in the town. They are being distracted." He paused and looked at Sakura. "The Jinchuuriki, Naruto, has been taken."

"Of course. _Hinata_ was the distraction. In return for her, he takes the Kyuubi," Sasuke mused. Ayato nodded.

The next thing he knew, Sasuke socked him in the face. He stumbled to the ground holding his face as blood leaked out of his mouth and nose.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled.

"It's a small price to pay for my brother. And besides, I was expecting it." Ayato said. The rain quickly washed away the blood and Sasuke and Ayato watched each other.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke demanded.

"They won't do anything to him yet, so calm down."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that?"

Ayato laughed. "Really? Sasuke, I work for the guy, don't I? He's told me his plans."  
Sasuke smirked. "Well maybe he doesn't trust you and saw this betrayal coming."  
Ayato smirked right back. "I don't think so."

Sakura stood up, supporting Hinata. "Okay boys, that's enough. Ayato, tell us what you know."

"Well, he's going to wait until he has the Ox before he extracts the Kyuubi. He won't have the Ox for a few days. He plans on holding Naruto in a state similar to Hinata's until that time."  
"What if he gets the Ox early?" Sasuke asked.

"He still won't act yet because there won't be enough people until the predetermined day."

Sasuke and Sakura nodded. Hinata wobbled and looked at Ayato. "When is that day?"

"A full week from now. You can spend two days getting back to Konoha to drop off Hyūga and report your mission, and then have five days to save Naruto. Fair?"

Sakura nodded. "We can do it," she said to Sasuke. Hinata looked worried. Sasuke sighed.

"It sounds reasonable enough. But the question lingering is: what about you?"

Ayato smiled sadly. "I can get my brother while you're going back and meet you there in three days instead of two."

"So we won't have five days, but four," Sakura commented.

"I suppose so, yeah," Ayato said.

She nodded. "We can still do it."

"We'll be cutting it close," Sasuke said.

Sakura looked at him sternly. "We can still do it," she repeated.

He looked away and closed his eyes. "Fine."

Hinata looked around at all of them. "In that case, we should get going," she said softly. "Maybe we can get there a little earlier." She looked down at her feet. "I want to hurry and get and Naruto."

Sakura looked at Hinata sympathetically. "Right. We should go and stop by to pick up Neji and Sai, and then hurry back to Tsunade."

She looked at Hinata again. "Hinata, speaking as a medic, you shouldn't be running or straining yourself."

Hinata protested.

"So," Sakura said, interrupting her, "Sasuke I'd like you to carry her back until we get to the town."

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, okay."

Sakura smiled at him, thinking that maybe he really had changed. She turned back to Ayato again. "And one more thing, before we go."

"What's that?" Ayato asked.

"You never told us who you're taking orders from. I like to know my enemy, after all."

Ayato smiled without any humor. "Pain-sama."

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter! I wrote this in just one day!!! I guess my writers block is gone? Anyway, this chapter was fun and I hope you all liked it too. Please review!!!!**


	6. Impatience

10

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long guys! I've been torn between school, work, another story I'm writing (which is not fanfiction), another two fanfictions, deviantart, a new book by Stephen King, a ton of other novels, and my newfound interest in the Twilight Saga. Needless to say, these things have taken up much of my time, but here I am with a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I may be kinda boring, compared to the previous. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Lol. **

**Oh, and also…if you don't know who Pain is, then you really aren't going to understand this very well. You can either read the manga, look it up on Wikipedia, or deal with the limited amount of information I am about to give here. Pain is a very strong ninja who was trained by Jiraya before he went to the dark side. He is the leader of Akatsuki and can pretty much control things in a way similar to the force (no pun intended). He has really weird abilities which are hard to explain, but all the same, very very dangerous. With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter. Please. Lol. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Redemption

Chapter Six- Impatience

The rain was finally starting to let up as the sun dipped low in the sky. No one had spoken since leaving the clearing with the odd ninja, Ayato. Sasuke furrowed his eyes. Pain-sama. Pain. Who is this person that everyone seems so afraid to speak about? Sasuke knew a little bit about the man, but that was all. He was the leader of Akatsuki. He must be strong, but Sasuke had no idea what he could do. He had considered asking Sakura a few times on the way back, but hadn't done it yet.

He remembered the conversation with Sakura a few days prior, under the moon, when she asked him about Akatsuki. He mentioned Pain's name at the time. Now Sasuke wondered if she knew something and hadn't told him. It wasn't like Sakura to go into a mission uninformed.

Hinata rested on Sasuke's back as they ran towards the town where Neji and Sai were. He hoped he wasn't jostling her too much and causing any pain by running so fast. They didn't have an option, however, because Naruto's life depended on their speed. Sasuke glanced at Sakura once again and sucked his breath in softly. He prepared himself to ask her in a way that _didn't _make him sound stupid and uninformed. It wasn't his fault stupid Orochimaru had barely mentioned this guy.

"Sakura," he started.

Sakura didn't wait for him to continue. "I see the town ahead. We're almost there," she said.

Sasuke turned his gaze back ahead and saw the town as well. "Ah," he muttered. Silence reigned for about thirty more seconds. He had lost his nerve. Again. Sasuke mentally slapped himself.

"Sasuke?"

He glanced at Sakura. "Yes?" he responded.

"Were you going to tell me something?" she asked.

"Actually," he began, "I have a question."

Sakura smiled tightly. "About Pain?"

Sasuke nodded, looking towards the town. Sakura laughed softly, and Sasuke saw that she was upset.

"I don't know much about him myself," she admitted.

"But enough to make you scared," he said.

"We're here," Sakura said, stopping rather suddenly.

Sasuke skidded to a halt. He hadn't expected her to stop so quickly. Hinata stiffened on his back and made a funny sound. Sasuke immediately regretted his instincts. "Are you okay?" he asked, trying not to seem callous.

"Yes," she whispered. "Sorry I'm such a pain," she added.

Sasuke scoffed. "You're not a pain."

Sakura smiled and Sasuke sighed. "Well then," he said, "let's hurry up and find them."

"Actually, it seems like Neji is already on his way," Sakura said looking off to the right.

Sasuke followed her gaze and saw Neji running towards them. Sai wasn't with him. "Where have you been?" Neji exclaimed.

"Distracted," Sasuke said simply. Neji stared at him, waiting for him to say more. When Sasuke didn't say anything, he turned his attention to Sakura.

"Well?" he asked.

Sakura explained the situation as quickly and calmly as she could. She talked about meeting Ayato, going to save Hinata, revising the plan to help Ayato, and having to rescue Naruto. Neji stood still, digesting the whole thing with very little emotion, his calm mask only slipping at the part where Hinata was in a wet bag on the ground in the rain. At the end of the story, Neji removed Hinata from Sasuke's back.

"Are you feeling any better now?" he asked softly while holding her up. Hinata smiled.

"A little bit," she whispered. Neji nodded slightly and lifted her onto his back instead. Sasuke and Sakura watched silently. They stood there awkwardly for a minute or so.

"Where's Sai?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura looked at Neji, waiting for a response. "I have no idea," he muttered. "The ninja distracted us and were obviously making sure we couldn't get in contact. We should find him soon so that we can get Hinata to a medic."

He looked at Sakura apologetically a moment later, realizing the implication of his sentence. Sakura merely smiled and nodded. "Yes," she agreed, "she needs to get to a hospital. But I don't think we should split up…we've already had enough problems stem from that mistake. Let's look together."

Sasuke and Neji nodded reluctantly. Hinata didn't respond, resting her head on Neji's shoulder.  
Twenty minutes later they found Sai. He had been looking for them as well. After telling the story once again, they left the village as fast as they could. The sun had set completely now and the forest was dark, but no one suggested stopping.

During the next two days, nobody said much. Sakura promised Sasuke more information about Pain when they got back to Konoha. Tsunade would know.

* * *

As soon as the team arrived they went straight to Hokage Tower. The office door was closed when they got there and Shizune was standing outside the door.

"Returning from your mission then?" she asked. Then she paused. "Where are Naruto and Hinata?"

Sakura grimaced. Hinata was already in the hospital. "Not here. We need to talk to Tsunade-sama."

Shizune looked at them suspiciously. "You can't. The hokage is very busy right now. If you could come back in a few hours…"

"No!" Sakura said, cutting her off in mid sentence. "You don't understand. We _need_ to talk to her. Now."

Shizune stiffened at Sakura's commanding voice and sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. If you want to be yelled at…"

She moved out of the way and gestured for Sakura to open the door herself, which she did. Sasuke followed her, with Neji and Sai in the back. Tsunade looked up when they entered. There were piles of paper all over her desk. Books were stacked precariously everywhere and scrolls littered the floor. Tsunade opened her mouth and then frowned. She seemed to think better of something and finally sighed.

"Where are Naruto and Hinata?"

"Long story," Sakura said. Tsunade eyed her curiously, and Sakura launched into the tale for the third time. Tsunade did not take the story with the same calmness that Neji had.

"WHAT? PAIN! YOU ARE TRUSTING SOMEONE WHO WORKS FOR PAIN?!"

Sakura flinched. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade glared at Sakura. "I thought you were smart," she growled. "You _do _know who we are dealing with, don't you?"

Sakura looked at her feet for a moment and then brought her head up. There was a fierce glint in her eyes. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"I do, Tsunade-sama. I may not know as much as you do, but I understand the implications. I trust Ayato."

Tsunade was unfazed by the change in Sakura's demeanor. "Well then. Fine. I shall trust him for the time being as well. You will need to bring him here when he arrives tomorrow and I will make a final judgment. As for what you understand about Pain, you are right; I do know more. All of you need to stay so that I can explain exactly what you are dealing with here. Pain is not to be taken lightly."

The team nodded in understanding. "Well then…where should I start…"

* * *

Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, and Neji stepped out of Hokage Tower. Neji looked at Sakura for direction. Funny, how suddenly everyone looked to her for guidance.

"We meet here tomorrow around noon. I'm not sure exactly when he'll get here, so you might be waiting for a while. When Ayato does arrive, I'll bring him here. From then, we shall introduce him to Tsunade-sama." She smiled. "Then we can leave to go get Naruto. Hopefully this will all be over soon."

Neji nodded and disappeared in a flash. Sai started to leave without a word. Sasuke glanced at Sakura and began to walk reluctantly after him.

"Sasuke," Sakura called after him. Sasuke turned around to face her. Sai ignored them and continued to walk away.

"Sakura, I need to leave…he's not going to wait."

Sakura glanced at her feet and her hair fell in her face, hiding her faint blush. "Um, Sasuke, why don't you spend tonight at my apartment? I want to talk to you about strategy."

Seconds passed in silence. Sakura was almost too afraid to look up at his face, but when she did, he was looking away.

"Sasuke?"

"Okay," he said. Sakura smiled.

"Sai?" she called. He was almost out of sight.

"I heard," he yelled back. "And thanks, hag. I hate dealing with him."

Sakura decided to ignore his comment about her and began to walk towards her apartment. Sasuke followed her.

"Do you need to grab anything from Sai's?" she asked.

"Not really," he muttered. "This isn't about strategy is it?"

"No," she responded. "I wanted to save you from staying another night with Sai." She glanced behind her to see his reaction. Sasuke did something he rarely did, and smiled.

"Thanks," he said. Sakura blushed and looked away. "Anytime."

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

It was cold and windy. Sakura and Sasuke stood waiting for Ayato to arrive at the main gates in the windy weather. They had in fact been waiting for almost three hours. Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Maybe he's not coming," he said finally. "He could have tricked us…"

"No Sasuke. He's coming. I told you…I trust Ayato."

"Yeah," Sasuke said, "I remember." They glared at each other.

"Sakura-san!" called a familiar voice. Sakura and Sasuke looked towards the gate at the same time. Ayato was walking towards the gate with a younger boy on his back. The boy looked to be about their age, in the late teens. Sakura smiled and waved.

"You're here!" she called.

"Of course," he responded, finally reaching them. "I told you I was coming."

Sasuke muttered something under his breath about not being able to trust backstabbing ninja and something about Pain. Sakura smiled, stepping on his foot. Sasuke winced.

"I know. We were waiting for you." She looked at the boy again, this time more clearly. He was obviously sick. The boy smiled. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Shinji," he replied, his voice soft. Sakura nodded and looked back to Ayato.

"Follow me…we can take him to the hospital and then see the Hokage."

Ayato nodded. "When will you be able to see him?" he asked.

"I can look at him after we see Tsunade-sama and before we leave. I can give him some treatment, but once we get back, I can begin a more serious treatment."

Ayato nodded in approval and followed them to the hospital and then to Hokage Tower.

* * *

Surprisingly, Tsunade seemed to approve of Ayato. She had made the team stand outside the office as she spoke to him, and about ten minutes later allowed them to enter. Tsunade informed them that she trusted the ninja and told them to hurry and get Naruto back. Sakura smiled in triumph as they left Hokage Tower. Neji and Sasuke, however, glared suspiciously at the boy the whole time. Sai didn't care one way or the other.

"Where are we going?" Neji asked as they left the Tower. They weren't going in the direction of the gates.

"We need to take a quick trip to the hospital, and then we can leave on this mission to retrieve Naruto," she replied. Neji nodded and Sakura lead them into the hospital and to Shinji's room. She peered in to check if he was awake. Shinji noticed her and waved his hand somewhat hesitantly. Sakura smiled and opened the door all the way. She moved to check the monitors and the previous nurse's report. The team and Ayato followed her into the small room.

"How are you feeling, Shinji?" she asked.

"Overwhelmed," he responded with a smile. Sakura laughed and put down the folder she was holding.

"How are you feeling physically?" she clarified. He shrugged.

"Not bad," he paused. "…I think they gave me some pain killers," he added. Sakura nodded. She turned to Ayato.

"The nurse prescribed a drug here that I think will do fine according to her summarization of the problem for the next few days. Once we come back, I can start the real treatment; however, this is fine for now."

Ayato nodded in understanding. Sakura quickly explained the situation to Shinji, and she and Ayato said goodbye for the time being. Once out of the hospital, Sakura made sure everyone was ready before they reached the main gates. She turned to Ayato. "So what's the plan? Where is Naruto?" she asked.

"Well, it's been about three days now. They should have already gotten him to the place they plan to perform the…event. We can get there in about four days, like I said before."

Sasuke moved forward. "Won't Pain know that you've betrayed him? Won't he move this to another location?"

Ayato smiled. "I doubt it. I don't think Pain-sama thinks of me as much of a threat, after all."

"Besides," Sakura said quickly, "as long as it's somewhat close, we should be able to feel Naruto's chakra…he's hard to miss after all. Not to mention, all of Akatsuki will be there. We will definitely be able to feel that."

Everyone seemed to agree with that.

"Okay then," Ayato said. "We ought to get going if we want to make it on time. I took the liberty of making a map of where we are going." He handed the map to Sakura. Sasuke and Neji peered over her shoulders. "So, the sooner the better. Let's go."

* * *

**A/N: Excellent! Merry Christmas everyone!!! Sorry it took me so freakin long to update this story. I finished before Christmas, but my beta reader was too busy to read this. I should have posted it yesterday I guess, but I forgot. Therefore, this hasn't been proof read, but I can always replace it if I need to. Be happy; it's all for you guys. –grins- I hope this chapter was a good addition. I guess I should work on not writing so many stories and stuff at once, but I just can't help it. As of now, I am writing two one-shots. I hope to add those soon. Please read them! Anyway, as always, if you have any suggestions for the story, don't be shy; I consider everything sent to me. So please review!**

_**Merry Christmas and happy New Year!!**_


	7. Stress

8

**A/N: So it's been awhile since we've met, my readers. Try to contain your joy…haha, just kidding. Sorry it's been so long. I've been ever so busy with school and haven't had time to do anything, especially right before Spring Break, when all teachers decide to give ridiculous amounts of projects and homework assignments. So please forgive me for my lag. I hope this chapter brightens your day. **

Disclaimer: And I still don't own Naruto. Seriously…that last chapter… wtf?

Redemption

Chapter Seven- Stress

* * *

Sasuke threw the last stick into the pile and performed the katon no jutsu to get a fire started. Sakura knelt in front of the fire and rubbed her hands together and looked up at Neji, across the fire, who was sitting emotionlessly. Sakura continued to watch him brood over the fire as Sasuke sat next to her and closed his eyes. Ayato was already asleep.

"Neji."

He looked up, and the fire reflected in his eyes. Sakura bit her lip. "It'll be alright. Hinata is fine. She won't do anything reckless."

Neji laughed humorlessly. "She wanted to come with us. She is in no position to be chasing after Naruto in this condition, and yet she says things like 'I'd die for him'." Neji grimaced and looked at the ground.

Sakura looked at Sasuke for support. He opened his eyes and gave her a blank stare. Of course. What was she thinking? Sasuke didn't care.

"Yes, but she also knows that dying now won't help Naruto at all and that she is unable to fight in this state. She won't do anything."

Neji frowned. "Maybe." He remained silently thoughtful for a few moments. "Hinata has never acted this way before. I just don't understand it."

Sakura smiled. "Neji, she's in love."

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably and promptly lied down, closing his eyes again. Sakura frowned at him. He's avoiding this conversation, she thought. She looked at Neji again, who was completely oblivious to the tension on the other side of the campfire.

Sai walked back from the woods. "Why are you even talking about this?" he asked.

Sakura ignored his question. "Anything suspicious?"

"No."

Neji stood up. "I'll do first shift then. Who's up for second?"

"I'll do it," Sakura volunteered. "Sasuke next, and then Sai."

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

They were two days away now, and Sakura was beginning to get anxious. "How close are we?" she asked Ayato, trying not to seem nervous or repetitive. He opened his mouth to respond, but Sasuke beat him to it.

"Sakura, stop asking. We'll be there the day after tomorrow. If you need to look at the map, just ask."

Sakura glared at him, and Sasuke returned the gesture before softening up. He sighed. Everyone had come to a halt. Sasuke put his hands on her shoulders. "I know you're worried about Naruto, but he'll be fine. We'll get there in two days and get him back. Just…relax a little bit. It won't do anyone any good if you're all high strung like this."

Sakura stared at him the whole time, wanting to still be angry with him, but having a hard time doing so. She knew he was right.

She took a step closer to him. "We have to bring him back," she whispered.

Sasuke nodded. "We will."

That night and the following day were just as tense. Finally the night before the last day of travel came, and Sasuke lit another fire, as was the custom, and everyone went to sleep except for him. He was first on night duty, and he sat against a nearby tree. Sakura lay curled in a ball beside him.

"Sasuke," she whispered when everyone was asleep for sure.

"You're not asleep? Sakura, you're next on duty."

She grimaced and sat up. "I can't sleep," she responded guiltily.

"Hn." She continued to sit, watching him. "What is it," he finally asked, exasperated.

"I'm just concerned…"

"Sakura, if I've told you once, I'll tell you again. Naruto will be fine," he said, interrupting her.

"That's not the only thing," she said softly. Sasuke stiffened, and snuck a quick glance at her. She was playing with her hands and blushing ever so slightly. Great. That's just great.

"Sakura," he said, hesitating.

"No, let me." Sasuke looked at her and sighed. He looked away and nodded. Sakura watched him as she thought of a way to begin.

"Your probation ends soon. They'll have you come to another hearing and see if there has been any improvement. If they decide that you are better, there is a chance they may let you go, and just restrict you from becoming a jounin for a while." She paused for a few moments, and then continued. "Even so, there are still many people in the village that, to put it nicely, hate your guts. Lots of businesses like restaurants won't let you in, and I don't know how the other ninja will treat you. The only place I can think that you could stay would be in the old Uchiha manor, which I personally think would be unhealthy for you…"

She glanced at his face for a reaction and found none. "As for me, I honestly can't understand why I still care about you, but I do. I thought when you left that I would die from sadness, but slowly I began to feel better, like I could move on."

Sasuke grimaced.

"I went on a few dates with some guys, but nothing ever became of that. Even so, I thought I was over you. And then, you came back, and with you came all of my feelings." Sakura sighed and looked at him. "Sasuke, the fact is that I still love you. I want…I want you to stay in my apartment when we get back. I don't think anyone will rent you a room."

Sasuke heaved a heavy sigh. "Even if I did…what's to say that they will stop renting to you because of me?"

"Because, I am an important member of society. I am a well respected doctor and pupil of Tsunade and have a good reputation among the villagers. Although they may challenge my judgment, they will respect it."

"Sakura…you don't even know how I feel," he said.

Sakura bit her lip again. "It doesn't matter."

Sasuke clenched his teeth and looked at her fiercely. "Yes it _does,_ Sakura!"

"Keep your voice down," she whispered as Neji stirred.

"Don't avoid this," he responded, now whispering. She looked him in the eye.

"You're right, I don't know how you feel. But I do know how I feel, and I don't want you moping in that old manor, all alone and hated. Not when you have friends."

Sasuke looked away angrily. "Have you even thought this through?" he hissed. "From your calculations, I'd have to live in your apartment for the rest of my life."

Sakura blushed. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there," she said. He frowned and looked at her again. At least the reasoning she gave wasn't just based on her fangirlish feelings.

"—Sakura…" he began.

"Maybe we shouldn't be having this conversation now," she said suddenly, interrupting. "Tomorrow is a big day, so why don't you go to sleep. I'll take watch."

Sasuke frowned again. He hardly ever spoke to her, and when he finally had something to say, she just had to cut him off, didn't she.

"No," he said. "This conversation is not over." Sakura began to look away awkwardly but he caught her face gently with his hand and turned it back so that his eyes were on level with hers.

"I have to be fully clear with you," he said, making her blush once more. "When we first met, I thought you were completely useless," he said.

Sakura's eyebrows dipped in annoyance. "Very romantic, Sasuke."

He smirked slightly and his hand dropped to his side. "When I left Konoha, I thought that you had improved greatly and that you could do better after I was gone." He ran a hand through his hair. "When I came back…I never thought you'd be so independent. I'm impressed, Sakura."

She looked away and hoped the darkness would hide the flush that rose in her cheeks. "Thanks," she muttered.

"And like you've said, you've become a respectable, reasonably high class, citizen in Konoha. After all that work, I don't want to bring you down by living with you."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and returned her gaze to Sasuke. "Bullshit," she said. "That is the stupidest reason ever. Besides, what ever happened to the Uchiha pride? You better come up with something better than that to get me to agree."

"Sakura," he said, realizing that this was about to become a lecture.

"I mean, really, I can't believe that you'd actually—"

"Sakura," he repeated with growing annoyance.

"—think that I'd buy into such—"

Fine, that was enough of this conversation. He leaned forward, cupped a hand behind her head, and kissed her all in one swift motion. He felt the heat rising on her cheeks and finally let go, pulling away quickly. Sakura looked at the ground and coughed awkwardly.

"Well…okay, I guess that settles it."

He sighed. "We'll see how the sentencing goes."

She looked at him and smiled brightly. "Don't worry, Sasuke. It'll work out."

He raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you become such an optimist?"

She laughed. "I think it's about time for my shift now."

"Way to not get any sleep. Fine, I'll see you in the morning then."

She nodded and he moved close to the campfire to sleep. Sakura sighed and thought about Naruto. How were they supposed to save him? It would be yet another long night.

* * *

"We should get there around sundown," Ayato said confidently. "We should all do our best to get there as quickly as possible. It'll be a long day."

Everyone nodded and prepared for the last stretch of the journey. The rest of the day was a blur of trees and wildlife. They didn't take many breaks in an attempt to reach Naruto as soon as they could. Everyone was tired and Sakura became increasingly restless.

She thought about Naruto and what sort of condition he'd be in when they arrived. Suddenly, Ayato stopped. Sakura landed inches behind him.

"We're here," he said. They peered past the trees and saw that a clearing was just ahead. At the end of the clearing was a giant rock that must have stretched miles. Straight ahead was an opening dug into the rock.

"A cave," Neji said. Ayato nodded.

"That's right. Naruto is in there with Pain and the rest of Akatsuki.

"This is it," Sakura said.

* * *

**A/N: The end approaches! This story should be finished in the next couple of chapters, depending on how I plan to end it. **

**I'd like to get a vote… and I hope you've been reading the manga. Clearly, I started this story before some key plotlines were introduced in the manga, but I can still sort of work them into this story. That is up to you, my amazing reader. **

**Would you like me to (a) work the whole Nagato/Naruto ending into the story or (b) make up a completely new ending?**

**Personally, I like (a) better. Anyway, ****please review****!!! **


	8. His Name

15

**A/N: Well, it's been awhile, but I know I've made you wait longer before. Haha. So, I decided to base the resolution off of chapter 448. If you haven't read it yet, you might want to get on that first, unless you like spoilers. Oh, and as I was going over my previous chapters to make sure everything made sense, I realized I'd made a mistake. I mentioned something about Hinata chasing after the team on the morning of their departure, which interestingly isn't in the chapter. Hmm, I don't know how that happened, but I fixed it. Other than that, please enjoy the resolution to Redemption!**

* * *

Redemption

Chapter Eight- His Name

* * *

Sakura was the first to approach the cave. Naruto was in there. Her steps were slow and deliberate. The others followed cautiously behind. They were almost there; just a few more steps. Sasuke put his hand on her shoulder, telling her wordlessly to stop.

"Wait," he whispered. "Someone is here."

Sakura didn't grasp the meaning of the words. Of course someone was here. It was Naruto! She tried to shrug his hand off, but he tightened his hold. And then she saw him, the figure emerging from the woods by the rock. She stopped moving all together.

"Who," she breathed. But they all knew the answer. It was Pain. He moved closer to them with no hesitation, and certainly no fear.

"Here to see Naruto in his last minutes I presume?" he questioned politely. His face betrayed his words and voice. He was clearly bored.

"Don't worry," he continued, as if someone in the group had actually responded. "Nagato expected you might show. Don't be a stranger." He gestured towards the cave. "Feel free to go see him."

They stared, not sure what to do. Ayato was quaking in his shoes. At first glance, Sai was the most relaxed in the group, although Sakura noticed how tightly his fists were clenched. Neji was tense, ready for anything. Sasuke's grip didn't loosen on Sakura, who wasn't sure whether she should attack Pain or go to Naruto. Sasuke kept himself the most composed.

Sasuke leaned close so that Sakura could feel his breath on her ear and cheek. She suppressed a shiver. So not the time! And why did she get the feeling that he was smirking?

"Keep walking. He won't do anything."

Sakura swallowed nervously and nodded. Sasuke leaned back and they started to walk, never taking their eyes off of Pain. After a few more steps they were inside of the cave and the darkness enveloped them. For several seconds, Sakura couldn't see anything. She blinked a few times and her eyes began to adjust.

"So you came," said an unfamiliar voice. "I thought you might betray me, Ayato."

Ayato trembled and looked away from the voice, saying nothing. Sakura scanned the room, searching for the source of the voice, but instead she found Naruto. He was lying crumpled on the ground. Her heart skipped a beat. Had they come too late? She broke free of Sasuke's grip with ease.

"Sakura, wait!"

But Sakura was already halfway across the room. He groaned and hurried after her. Neji and Sai stayed put, flanking Ayato.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she fell to her knees beside him. She was vaguely aware that her knees burned and were probably bleeding. Sasuke crouched beside her and activated his Sharingan, scanning the room. After a moment, he spotted the one he could only guess was Nagato.

"Naruto! Naruto, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Sakura continued, completely oblivious. She began to check him for wounds and, after a quick routine check, she placed her hands on his chest. Sasuke looked down at what she was doing. Her hands began to glow and chakra flowed into Naruto's unconscious body.

After several seconds, Naruto began to cough and Sakura sat him up quickly. He opened his eyes and Sasuke could almost feel Sakura's relief.

"You're okay," she said softly, stating the obvious. "I thought…thought," she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

Naruto smiled. "Why are you apologizing Sakura? I'm fine." He paused, his face suddenly becoming serious. "But now isn't the time for this."

Sakura was confused. "What do you mean?"  
Naruto looked around, his eyes locking on Nagato. "I'm not finished here."

Sakura looked up, seeing him for the first time. Her eyes widened at the sight of Nagato, who was a mere pale shadow of what used to be a man.

He was so skinny that he practically had no stomach and all of his bones were visible through his skin. His hair, black and straight, hung down just past his shoulder blades. He seemed to be half placed inside of a huge machine. It looked as if he was standing in it, and it covered up to his waist. His arms, which hung down by his sides, entered the machine at the elbows. Black things, which oddly resembled very thick stings, protruded from his back and into the machine against the wall.

He looked like a weak cripple. How could he have so much power? Sasuke saw the look on her face and leaned close. "Don't underestimate him, Sakura. Remember what Tsunade said. This man wants to wage war on Konoha, and he could do it with ease."

Yes, Tsunade had said that. She said that Pain was simply one extension of Nagato. That Nagato controlled at least six bodies with his chakra to do his bidding. That must be what this machine was for, to help channel his chakra.

Naruto stood up and Sakura and Sasuke jumped up with him. He turned and looked at them. "Teme," he said, giving Sasuke his acknowledgment.

Sasuke smirked. "Dobe."

Naruto looked at Sakura seriously. "Sakura, this thing, it's between me and—"

"Where are the others?" she asked suddenly, interrupting. "I thought that this needed more members of Akatsuki."

"Well whoever told you that is obviously wrong," Naruto said, trying to make it a joke. Ayato shuffled his feet awkwardly. But Sakura would not be calmed so easily.

"We're not leaving you here alone with him," Sakura said. "I know that's what you were going to say, and it's not happening."

"Sakura, this is between me and Nagato."

Sakura began to protest but Naruto put a finger over her lips, making Sasuke stiffen ever so slightly. "It's okay, Sakura. I'm not asking you to leave me here. Just wait outside, okay?"

Sakura batted his hand away and frowned. "Give me one good reason why!" she demanded.

"Sakura," Sasuke muttered behind her.

"No, Sasuke! We traveled all this way to make sure he was safe and take him home and now he wants to be left alone with someone who would end his life without a second thought? Hell no!"

"We'll be right outside the cave if something happens," Sasuke said. Sakura whipped around. "You can't be _serious_!"

They stared at each other, each waiting for the other to give in.

Naruto laughed darkly. "And the clash of stubbornness ensues."

Sasuke frowned at him without sparing a glance and then sighed. He raised his arms quickly and enveloped Sakura in a tight hug. She was so confused that she stood there like an idiot, doing absolutely nothing.

She blushed. "…Sasuke..."

He raised one of his hands to her neck. "Trust me," he whispered. Suddenly Sakura's legs gave out and Sasuke caught her as she fell. Naruto gaped.

"What did you do, teme?!"

Sasuke shrugged. "Just pressed the appropriate pressure points. She'll be out cold for maybe twenty minutes. I hope that's enough, because when she wakes up there'll be hell to pay."

Naruto nodded. "Okay, thanks."

Sasuke nodded and gathered Sakura into his arms better before leading the rest of the team outside. Pain was gone.

"Now what?" Neji asked.

Sasuke went to the closest tree and sat down against it, laying Sakura in his lap. "Now we wait."

Back in the cave Naruto and Nagato stared speechlessly.

"You are the sacrifice needed to bring about peace on this Earth, Naruto," Nagato said.

"And you would kidnap and kill to bring about this peace that you speak of?" Naruto questioned. "You'd wage war for it? The pervy sage said that one day people would love and understand each other."

Nagato sneered. "You'd believe in his idealism at this point?"

"I don't understand…" Naruto frowned. "If you were his apprentice, how did you turn out this way? I'll answer your question after you tell me…"

Nagato sighed. "Very well." He proceeded to tell Naruto about his parents' murder. When he was young, the Konoha Village started a war and his parents, who the ninja didn't realize were civilians, were casualties. He continued to tell Naruto about how he accidentally killed these ninja with his new found ability which developed out of his rage. It was called the Rinnegan.

Afterwards he left his house with some provisions, but was soon starving in the streets with no one to help. Finally a girl named Konan found him and took him back to her friend, named Yahiko. The three of them stole to get by and lived that way for a long time.

When they witnessed war continuing, Yahiko and the others went and found Jiraiya, who taught them to become ninja. Their deepest wish was to end war. Nagato wanted to protect people, and Jiraiya imparted his wish for people to understand each other. He also wished that war would end once this happened. But eventually he had to go home, and he left the trio.

Yahiko became the leader of their soon to be infamous gang. They met with a man named Hanzo to help end war, but Hanzo set up a trap with Konoha's Danzo, who wanted to become Hokage. Through this trap, Nagato was forced to kill Yahiko. In a rage, he killed the majority of the ninja there. He became the leader after this incident, but many of his friends continued to die anyway.

He paused briefly. "The peace of big countries like your own is built on the sacrifice of smaller countries. Your peace is violence to us. The peace Jiraiya spoke of was just a fantasy; there can be no peace in this cursed land."

Naruto pulled Jiraiya's book out of his pocket. _The Legend of the Gusty Ninja_.

"You may be right," Naruto said, "but the pervy sage believed in me, so I will believe in what he believed in." He paused. "I will break the curse. If there is such a thing as peace, I will find it."

Nagato stumbled for words. "You…that…those words…"

"That's right," Naruto said. "Those were the words from his first book. He wrote this book to change the world. In the end he says that it was inspired from one of his pupils."

Naruto looked up. "That was you, Nagato. And the name of the main character is _Naruto_." He began to raise his voice. "So my name is a precious memento to him. I can't just trample that!"

He began to calm down. "I will become Hokage and make sure that there is peace for everyone, so please believe in me."

Nagato seemed deep in thought. "You remind me of myself when I was younger. I couldn't believe in what Jiraiya said or the man himself then, but you have chosen a different path. A different future." He paused. "I will believe in you, Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

Naruto walked out of the cave, to his friends' surprise, completely unscathed.

"What happened?" Sai and Neji questioned at once. Naruto explained the story quickly, promising more details later. Sasuke frowned.

"We didn't hear any fighting, but I thought for sure that something would have to happen for you to get out alive. Interesting."

Naruto grinned. "How's Sakura?"

Sasuke grimaced. "Should be raising hell any minute right now."

As if on cue, Sakura stirred in his lap. "Maybe you should move her," Naruto suggested with a wide grin. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Like he couldn't handle one girl.

"W-what happened?" she murmured. "Where…"

She used Sasuke's shirt to climb her way into a sitting position, leaving her confused face only a few inches from his ever so cautious one. Naruto sniggered. Sakura's eye's narrowed.

"Sasuke," she purred softly, "you were the one who rendered me unconscious, correct?"

He smirked tentatively. "That would be me. And look, Naruto is fine. This whole thing is over. You were exaggerating the situation."

Sakura looked around and spotted Naruto. And turned back, unfazed. "And yet, you still knocked me out," she said softly, playing with the cloth of his shirt. "I think we're going to have a talk once we get back to Konoha."

"Hn."

"Um, Sakura," Ayato said nervously. He didn't want to provoke her anger. She turned innocently to him and everyone cringed at her fake and dangerous happiness. "Um, yeah," he muttered, avoiding her eyes. "I was just wondering if we ought to get going? I'm worried about Shinji…"

Her mood changed immediately. She jumped out of Sasuke's lap and smiled for real this time. "Of course. And Naruto can explain to me what happened on the way back."

* * *

Although Naruto insisted on going straight to the hospital to see Hinata, the team forced him to see Tsunade and give her a briefing. Once done, he bounded off to pay the Hyuuga a visit. This visibly upset Neji, and left Sakura giggling and muttering something about puppy love.

Sasuke had his hearing and, due to his help on the recent case especially, he was given a minor, in comparison to death, punishment. Seeing as he never actually took the test to become anything more than a genin, he must stay at that level for 3 years. In the meantime, he was on probation, meaning he couldn't leave Konoha. He took Sakura up on her offer and eventually began to date.

On one of these occasions they decided that a simple place like Ichiraku's was fine. Sakura twirled her chopsticks and stared at the food blankly, trying to come up with some sort of conversation.

"Sakura." Sasuke's voice broke her reverie. She looked up instantly.

"What is it?"

He smirked. "Just eat."

She blushed and looked away. "Whatever Sasuke. I just feel like maybe you should try a little harder to be sociable sometimes."

"While you're trying to eat?"

She shrugged. He reached over and cupped her face in a hand, putting his face way too close. "What do you want me to ask?"

Her blush came back in full force, and he leaned forward so that their lips brushed. Sakura was having a hard time thinking anything at all.

"Teme, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled from somewhere nearby, ruining the moment. Sasuke released her instantly, a scowl already in place. Sakura groaned and turned. Naruto was running towards them with a huge grin on his face.

"Guess what guys?!" he asked excitedly.

"It better be worth it, Naruto," Sakura hissed. Naruto smirked.  
"So—rry! You did look pretty personal right there Sakura-chan."

The chopsticks in her hand snapped and Naruto gulped. "Well, umm, what was I going to…oh! So guess what?"

They stared at him blankly, clearly not going to guess. "Fine," he pouted. "You guys are lame." He perked up again rather quickly. "Hinata and I are dating!" he exclaimed. He was clearly very proud with himself. "I just asked her today." He stood up straighter and smiled triumphantly.

Sakura laughed. "That only took forever, Naruto."

He shrugged. "Oh! But there's more!!"

Sakura looked at Sasuke warily. Returning her gaze to Naruto she asked the unspoken words. "What else?"

"She says that we should all go on a double date! Wouldn't that be so much fun?!"

Sasuke turned back to his food silently fuming. Sakura blushed. She was sure she saw red flash in his eyes. "Um, that probably isn't a very good idea…Naruto…"

"But—"

Sasuke stiffened. Sakura waved her hands. "Maybe we should talk about this later."

"Oh, well I was just going to say that she's on her way right now." Sakura froze, her hands still in mid-air.

"Don't worry! It'll be fun!!"

Oh _really_?

* * *

**A/N: So I finally finished it! I hope it was worth the read. I know that the Nagato part was really anti climatic, but it was that way in the manga too. I hope it wasn't too close to the manga to upset you. I just couldn't think of another way. Anyway, I felt really bad because I started this story so long ago, so here is the ending you've been waiting for for about a year and a half. Woot! 12 pages!! Please review!!!**


End file.
